Stud Games: 20,000-50,000, 50,000-100,000 Limits, 10,000 Ante
Another day of high-stakes mixed-game action has concluded in Event #96: $25,000 High Roller H.O.R.S.E. with Albert Daher emerging as the chip leader after bagging up 3,630,000. Not far behind is Michael Moncek with 3,245,000, and rounding out the top three is David Benyamine with 3,235,000 as the only other player who bagged over three million in chips.
Daher has not cashed in a live World Series of Poker bracelet event since 2018, wherein he placed sixth in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship. The Lebanon native has more recently had big results in Europe, including a victory in a $25,000 No-Limit Event in Cyprus last year.
Also still in contention is Scott Seiver, who is drawing live at winning a record-breaking fourth WSOP bracelet in a single series. Seiver has put on a dominating performance in this year's series and currently leads the WSOP Player of the Year race. A win for Seiver would only cement his poker legacy, which has already made Seiver a front-runner for being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame when Seiver is eligible next year.
End of Day 2 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Day 3 Big Bets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albert Daher | Lebanon | 3,630,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Michael Moncek | United States | 3,245,000 | 27 |
| 3 | David Benyamine | France | 3,235,000 | 27 |
| 4 | Yueqi Zhu | China | 2,055,000 | 17 |
| 5 | Xixiang Luo | China | 1,305,000 | 11 |
| 6 | Ryan Miller | United States | 1,235,000 | 10 |
| 7 | Phil Ivey | United States | 1,210,000 | 10 |
| 8 | Matt Glantz | United States | 900,000 | 8 |
| 9 | Scott Seiver | United States | 830,000 | 7 |
| 10 | Adam Friedman | United States | 370,000 | 3 |
Day 2 began with 58 players of the original 95 entrants returning to the felt inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. They were joined by 25 Day 2 entrants, bringing the total number to 120 and generating a $2,232,500 prize pool. The eventual winner will take home $725,796 in addition to the gold bracelet.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize |
|---|---|
| 1 | $725,796 |
| 2 | $483,866 |
| 3 | $336,442 |
| 4 | $239,850 |
| 5 | $175,423 |
| 6 | $131,719 |
| 7 | $101,608 |
| 8 | $80,585 |
| 9 | $65,761 |
| 10 | $55,263 |
Day 2 Action
As stated, an additional 25 players hopped into the fray before late registration ended in hopes of quickly running up a stack. Among them was defending champion Josh Arieh, who was unable to gain any momentum and ended up busting on the first level of play after running two pair into Joao Vieira's straight in Stud Hi-Lo.
While most of the late-arrivals fell in the early levels, including Daniel Negreanu, Benny Glaser, Nacho Barbero, Jesse Lonis, and Brian Rast, a few were able to navigate their chips into a cash. The bubble burst after a short-stacked Matthew Ashton called all in preflop in a hand of Omaha Hi-Lo and was eliminated by Benyamine, who made the nut low with a nut flush.
One of the late arrivals was Phil Hellmuth, who was in classic form today — jovial when winning and going on expletive tirades when losing. Hellmuth survived the money bubble as one of the short stacks but was the first to go post-bubble after Daher made an eight against Hellmuth's nine in Razz.
Day 1 chip leader Paul Volpe managed to navigate his stack into a cash but fell short of a Day 3 berth after getting short and falling to Nick Guagenti's two pair in Stud Hi-Lo for a 15th-place finish. Guagenti followed Volpe out the door in 14th place after Xixiang Luo made trip aces against Guagenti in Omaha Hi-Lo.
Bracelet winner Ali Eslami took a brutal beat late in the night after getting all in against Yueqi Zhu with the nut flush against Zhu's two pair. The river put trips on board to improve Zhu to a full house and eliminate Eslami in 12th place.
Jason Mercier ended up being the last elimination of the night after losing back-to-back hands in Razz against Moncek.
The final ten players will return Tuesday, July 16, at 2 p.m. local time to play down to a winner. Play will resume on Level 21, which features 30,000-60,000 blinds with 60,000-120,000 betting limits. All breaks will be discretionary on players and tournament staff on Day 3.
Be sure to stick with PokerNews as we continue to bring you all the mixed-game action leading to the final table and eventual champion in the last high roller of the series!
